Day 3 at Hollywood Studios and Downtown Disney

I made no plans for day three so we could regroup and figure out as a group what was going to happen on this day. We had seen enough parades at Magic Kingdom so we headed over to Hollywood Studios. We found a lot of great rides, live shows and fun restaurants on. Everyone was happy and the crowds were not bad at all!

We stayed at the Polynesian Hotel which was right on the monorail. It was so convenient to just jump on the monorail and get to the park!

We had lunch at the Sci-Fi Diner today. You get to eat in a car and watch a movie just like the old drive-in movies we used to have around here.

Along with the kids meal came a glow in the dark Tinkerbell. She brought a lot of happiness to my little girl! She still sleeps with her at night!

Dessert anyone???

On the bus and headed to Downtown Disney.

Wonder what's going on here?

There were these cool fountains the kids could run through at Downtown Disney. The cool part was that the kids didn't get wet. They would try to get wet but, the fountains would turn off when they came by. We had a lot of fun trying to get wet with no success!

My favorite picture!

And another ice cream bar before dinner....thanks Tommy!

Disney Day 2

Day 2 was just as busy as night one. As you know, when you are in Disney it is nonstop! Today we entered the park and headed right to our lunch with Cinderella in her castle. Last time we went, Dawson was in love with Cinderella and every princess that walked by our table. This year, she was so excited to see everyone then, became shy and refused to have her picture taken with any of them. She sat on my lap and said hello but, that was it! Not even a picture!!! Don't get me wrong, she took EVERYTHING in and I heard about all day. She still loved every minute of it, just in a different way this year! It must be a "three" thing!

Walking up the spiral staircase to our table in Cinderella's Royal Castle!

Our view from our table. We overlooked Fantasyland.

Yummy dessert!

Part of our lunch involved each child getting a wand, waving it in the air and over a wishing star. Then the children were told to make a wish. Dawson's wish was....A DOG OF HER OWN since Ella apparently has now become my dog and she does not have one! So funny!!!

Tommy working and Dawson taking a little snooze. This happened every day and made them BOTH happy for the rest of the evening!

Next came the parades. I must say Dawson's favorite part of the whole trip was the parades. She would smile and wave the entire time. I have at least 50 pictures of her just waving! I kept trying to get a picture of her face and her hand was always up in the air waving!!!

In love with baby Sleeping Beauty (AKA Princess Aurora).

And a quick late night swim! Two days down, two more to go!

Disney's Not So Scary Halloween Party

Whew...what a weekend! So much to see and do and sooooo much fun! My family, along with my parents and niece spent a long weekend celebrating Halloween at Disney. I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was to be there at this time of year. Much better than summer time! In fact, I will never go again in the summer if I can help it! Our first day we arrived a little late, took a quick rest and got dressed up and ready for the Disney Not So Scary Halloween Party. As soon as we arrived, Dawson fell asleep...go figure! After a catnap, she was up and ready for some trick or treating, parade watching and some ride riding!

On the monorail headed to the park!

Some holiday decorations....

Main Street U.S.A.

Of course papa had to buy her some ice cream to get her prepared for the Halloween parade!

This was by far the best parade I have ever seen! I can't explain how amazing it was at night!

Tommy and Breea riding Dumbo. We were riding too so there's not a picture of us!!!

It's the end of the night and time to go home so we can do this again tomorrow!

A Sneak Peek of our Disney Weekend!

We are still recovering from our amazing weekend at Disney and I have not had the chance to post anything yet. Many of you have requested some pictures so I thought I would just post a few! There are more to come as soon as I finish up unpacking and doing the laundry!!!

Sleeping Beauty and Tinkerbell were loving our friends Tigger, Piglet, Pooh and Eyeore

Sleeping Beauty fell asleep before the festivities even began. It's quite hard to travel and attend a Halloween Party in Disney on the same day!!! But when she woke up, Dawson made it all night long! It was a great way to Trick or Treat!

Pumpkins and Hoops

We had a little more fun last weekend and enjoyed some of our park activities. Grace and Dawson loved climbing and running through the pumpkins. They just kept going and laughing as they ran around. Do these girls ever get tired? After we finished with the pumpkins, we walked over to the grass where we found a few hula hoops. At first, they tried to do it the traditional way but, that didn't work. With a little creativity, it become a fun game of running through the hoops and chasing each other. Look how hot the two of them were!

Hanging out with some pumpkins!

Why is everyone looking at me? Dawson really thought these were funny!

Catch me Grace...catch me!

2nd Annual Hayride and Bonfire

Last night we enjoyed a beautiful night at a pumpkin farm, with friends and some very fun fall festivities! It's always great to get together with friends and enjoy a warm bonfire, marshmallows, and a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.

Here's a view of the fields as we head out to the pumpkin patch.

On our way to look for a pumpkin.

You can't have a kid party without some cupcakes. HMMM...I think the adults ate more of these then the kids!

Treat bags are always a hit with Dawson!

I would have to say the best part of the night was when it was getting dark. The flashlights and glowsticks came out and some interesting creatures showed up. Dawson is shining her flashlight on a wooly bear she found in the hay!

We kept the fire roaring! As it got dark, it did get a little chilly.

There were lots of animals on the farm too! We spent a lot of time looking at these!!!

Next, came the corn kernel pit. Endless fun here...I thought she would never get out!

Climbing, climbing, climbing....

And one last stop.....the big hay stacks to climb and jump all over. It was pitch black here but, my flash lit up just for the pictures. Notice the flashlights and lanterns! It was a quiet ride home with a very tired and sleeping girl. Can't wait until next year!

Dad, are you watching Dawson?

I thought my dad was watching Dawson for a few minutes last night but, I was wrong! If you remember a few years ago, my dad was supposed to be watching her swim in her little pool and when I came outside, he was playing on his iPhone and she was splashing him. Last night, I peeked around the corner and BOTH of them were playing on their iPads! I could not resist sneaking away to catch a quick picture.

I can't tell you how much Dawson, Papa and I (if I get a chance to use it) love our iPads. In fact, papa loves his so much he lost his first one by throwing it in the trash in a pile of newspapers (he thinks). I knew he loved it so much so I bought him another one for Father's Day, his birthday, Christmas and so on! What a great piece of technology! The only problem now is that Dawson is so proficient that she knows how to get into everything...such as the book I'm reading...and she loves to change the pages! If you have not seen these yet, they really are worth having! I can't tell you how much use this iPad gets at our house, our car, and our dinners at restaurants!